Dell buys storage company 3PAR for $1.15 billion

Dell has announced a deal to buy virtusalisation-optimised storage company 3PAR for approximately $1.15 billion.

3PAR was established in 1999 and makes a number of storage arrays designed to overcome cost and energy problems by delivering only the capacity and performance needed for actual storage and usage.

It uses multi-tenant, clustered storage architecture with rapid provisioning and predictable performance, which it claims can cut storage administration costs by 90 percent and infrastructure costs by 75 percent.

Dell plans to integrate 3PAR into its existing portfolio of storage products, including PowerVault, EqualLogic and Dell/EMC. It believes that 3PAR will become an integral part of its business and it plans ot offer multiple 3PAR options, including direct-attach and highly-virtualised clustered storage area networks.

Dell is to keep the 3PAR operation at its current headquarters in Fremont, California. It also plans to invest in additional sales and engineering posts.

The deal, which has been approved by the board of directors of both companies, will see Dell pay $18 in cash per 3PAR share, to a total of roughly $1.15 billion. The acquisition is expected to be completed by the end of the year.